


Moving in Together

by xxMad_Donaxx



Series: Soul Mates [7]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: A mostly adult conversation about masturbation, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But no actual masturbation, Demisexuality, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 22:12:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18433145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxMad_Donaxx/pseuds/xxMad_Donaxx
Summary: The fall semester is well on it's way and Carver spends more time at Anders and Garrett's apartment than he does at home. Anders would like him to stay permanently but there's one small thing he'd like to work out.





	Moving in Together

As the fall semester wore on Carver found himself sleeping in Anders’ bed more than he slept in his own. Anders’ class schedule was busy and adding in his job at the coffee shop there was rarely a time when was home. His class schedule was barren in comparison and his job limited to weekend days. Since he was the one with more spare time he’d been spending as much of it as possible with his soulmate, even if it was just sleeping in the same bed.

Carver wasn’t thrilled to be hanging out with his brother so much but it was definitely worth it to be with Anders. Garrett teased them but not nearly as much as he could have. He was certain Anders didn’t talk about what they did and didn’t do behind his closed bedroom door but he was also certain Garrett knew nothing had happened. It was possible Garrett wasn’t as big of an ass as he’d been when they were younger but Carver couldn’t help feeling like the he was waiting for the right moment to play some horrible prank on him.

In the middle of all the suspicion and snuggling and occasionally just sitting on the couch watching movies Carver had discovered something. He liked cooking. It was early on in the fall semester Carver realized Anders subsisted on vending machine junk and questionable food from take-out places. Wonder at how a man studying to be a doctor could be so cruel to his body quickly morphed into a desire to fix the situation.

It started one night with a fat sandwich and some hastily cut fresh veggies when Garrett was still working and Anders looked dead on his feet. The gratefulness in his expression spurred Carver to hit the internet and spend some time with his mother. Ever since, he’d been spending some of his money for groceries that he could turn into healthy dinners for his soulmate and occasionally his brother.

Garrett’s job was mostly evenings and Anders work schedule was all over the place. There were days when he got home and went straight to bed and others where he could work on homework or more accurately, pretend to do homework while he watched Carver from the kitchen table. This was one of those nights but Anders wasn’t even bothering to pretend to do homework. He sat at the table with his chin in one hand and the other tapping a rhythm on his notebook with a pencil. The extra scrutiny didn’t bother him. He did wonder just what was on his soulmate’s mind however.

“You’re staring,” Carver said without looking up from the vegetables he was slicing.

“Yes,” Anders said sounding amused. “Watching you work.”

Carver smiled before focusing his attention back on the cutting board in front of him and the knife in his hand. He could usually feel his soulmate’s eyes following him. During the summer when Anders sometimes brought him lunch he’d watch Carver work before the break began. It was sometimes a little embarrassing being watched so openly but he had done his share of staring so he never mentioned it. Now it didn’t embarrass him at all. It was fascinating to be the focus of such intense attention. He also still did a bit of staring but was much better at not being caught.

“I was also thinking,” Anders said after a few minutes. “About a couple of things.”

There was a surge of anxiety through the bond that made Carver pause and look up. Anders’ pencil was drumming a little faster on his notebook but his gaze was steady. “About what?” Carver asked.

“You moving in. I asked Garrett about it and he said he doesn’t have a problem with it.”

“I practically live here now,” Carver said cautiously. “Why are you so nervous?”

Anders snorted and dropped his gaze to his notebook on the table. “I don’t want to be permanently jerking off in the shower.”

Now he knew how Anders was taking care of that. He had seriously considered asking a few times. Anders was extremely clingy in bed. It had taken him a while to get used to the way Anders molded himself on or around his body. Waking up feeling his morning wood was so common Carver only noticed now when it was absent. So far, despite Anders’ worry, Carver didn’t think he’d been used as a handy surface to rub off on.

“You don’t have to now,” Carver said after a moment of thought. Anders’ head came up, his eyebrows reaching for his hairline. He felt his cheeks warming up and turned back to his vegetables. “I could… watch if you don’t mind.”

He saw Anders drop his pencil and that hand disappeared under the table. Carver knew exactly what that hand was doing and he struggled to keep a smug smirk from his face. Curiosity had compelled him to test what he could do to make Anders hard. It still amazed him just how quickly he could make that appendage stand at attention. It was also a nice boost to his ego.

No matter how many times Anders told him that his lack of sexual desire didn’t matter, that it didn’t bother him, Carver felt a bit guilty about it. If it weren’t for that surge of desire when Anders touched his soul mark for the first time it probably wouldn’t bother him at all. He knew it was there however and was desperate to find it again. The fact that Anders didn’t pressure him in any way helped immensely.

“I really hope you’re serious,” Anders murmured.

“I am,” Carver said quietly.

After getting his partner worked up Carver usually ended up running away. There were a few times he’d listened through a door and he was absolutely certain Anders knew. It wasn’t that he was afraid or even being prudish. Despite the fact that arousing Anders was quite fun, that he’d encouraged Carver every time, it was very awkward not being aroused at all while his soulmate was.

“Carver,” said Anders in an even tone.

He sighed and turned to scrape the cut veggies off of the board into the skillet. It was difficult to hide things when the person you wanted to hide them from could feel some of your emotions. The thought of watching Anders masturbate was still a bit awkward but if he was going to live in this apartment he’d just have to deal with it.

“You’re so focused on not making me uncomfortable you make yourself miserable,” Carvers said as calmly as he could. “I’m flattered but I wish you’d quit. I want to stay here with you. I’m still not going to sleep on the couch and you shouldn’t have to hide from me when you want to… get off. I can deal with it.”

There was a thump behind him and Carver turned enough to see Anders’ head face down on his notebook. He turned back to the stove and stirred the vegetables into the potatoes. There was still a lot of anxiety coming through the bond but none of the insight that sometimes came with it so he stayed quiet. When he turned to put the cutting board and knife in the sink Anders was sitting upright with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Forget the fact it’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like that with someone else in the room,” Anders said with strained serenity. “You have no idea what utterly filthy things I’ve done with and to you in my dreams. I want… _I want_. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to participate just because we’re in the same room. I don’t even know if you masturbate.”

“I do,” Carver said with a shrug. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s better than waking up with spunk in my pants constantly.”

“So… just… making room?” Anders said hesitantly.

Carver nodded and turned to the stove a moment later. This was turning out to be the strangest conversation they’d ever had. This subject always made him somewhat uncomfortable but he hadn’t been this self-conscious about his lack of desire for quite a while. Anders was normally really good at easing the tension but right now he was elevating it. Not only did he now feel like he was competing with Anders’ imaginary version of himself, he also wondered if there was something wrong with his rather clinical approach to getting rid of the semen his body insisted on continuously producing.

He focused on dinner more for something to do than because it needed tending. Behind him Anders swore softly and he heard the scrape of the chair across the floor. Moments later he felt hands at his hips, Anders’ head resting on his shoulder. His hands slid around Carver’s stomach, one slipping under the bottom edge of his t-shirt. He felt Anders pressing against his back, his arms holding them together. Carver closed his eyes and took a deep breath and slowly relaxed onto Anders behind him.

“I’m sorry,” Anders whispered against his neck. “I have not handled this conversation well at all.”

“No,” said Carver evenly. “You haven’t.”

“Let’s start over,” said Anders in a normal tone without letting him go. “Carver, I would really love it if you moved in with me. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable in any way but I would be honored if you chose not to run away from me because I feel like playing with myself. Feel free to kick me out of the room if you want some privacy to take care of yourself as well.”

Carver huffed and ran a hand along the arms across his stomach. “I do that in the shower. No mess.”

“I usually end up swallowing it if I’m not in the shower. Also no mess.”

“That’s…”

“Way more than I needed to know.”

“Then don’t eavesdrop Garrett,” Anders said irritably.

“Stop smirking or I’ll burn yours,” Carver growled without turning around.

“In my defense I have to go through to get to my room,” Garrett said clearly trying not to sound amused. “It’s not my fault you didn’t hear the door.” Anders let go of him and glared. Garrett raised his hands in surrender. “I’m going. Let me know when it’s safe.”

They watched his brother cross the room. Carver turned to the stove and busied himself with cooking. Anders dug plates out of the cupboard and set them on the table then gathered forks from the drawer. He cleared up his school work and leaned on the counter next to him.

“How much do you think he heard?” Anders asked softly.

“All of it probably,” Carver replied sullenly. He shrugged and shook his head as he turned off the burners and pulled the pan of potatoes off the stove. “With me living here he’ll figure out I’m not normal anyway. If he hasn’t already.”

“You are perfectly normal,” Anders sighed. His voice turned stern as he continued. “I know you get on like a couple rabid dogs but Garrett does care about you. Even if he has figured out that you aren’t a typical sex crazed teenager I doubt he’d do anything to embarrass you or put you down because of it. If anything he’s probably relieved. He knows how sex crazy I am.”

Carver stopped and stared at Anders in shock. He couldn’t imagine why Garrett wouldn’t throw his lack of sexual desire at him somehow never mind be relieved about it. Sex was a popular topic among his friends but none of them ever admitted how horny they actually were on a day to day basis. If they were just friends how would Garrett truly know how much Anders really liked sex?

“Have you…” Carver began, half afraid of the answer.

“No,” Anders said shaking his head and smiling. “He’s a girls only kind of guy. He let me know he wasn’t interested in sex before I’d even said hello. Garrett never understood why I just stopped seeing people until we bonded and told them.”

“So… how does he know?”

“I told you before I was sort of a slut. It was well known my standards were pretty low. Now I don’t have any interest in anyone else. I want you every way you’ll let me have you.” Anders leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth and rubbed across his shoulders. “You can come out Garrett.”

His mind whirling Carver finished plating their supper. Anders disappeared into their room and Garrett reappeared from his wearing sweats and an old t-shirt. He stopped in the area that was living room, kitchen and hallway all in one. Carver scowled at him before turning to put the skillet into the sink. The last twenty minutes or so had been bad enough without his brother smirking at him.

“Look,” Garrett said softly from right behind him. “I heard enough to realize there’s something neither of you want me to know. I promise I won’t pry. I will say this however. Whatever it is I’m proud that you haven’t just rolled over and let him do whatever he wants.” Carver turned around his mouth dropped open in shock. Garrett smiled and gripped his shoulder. “Besides, he knows what I’ll do to him if he hurts you in any way.”

“Garrett,” Carver hissed. “He’s my soulmate!”

“And I’m your big brother.” Garrett’s expression was deadly serious and Carver couldn’t help but wonder if Anders’ caution at the beginning of the summer hadn’t been justified after all. He pulled Carver into a brief hug and continued in a normal tone. “Besides, he’s waited this long. Make him work for it.”

“Why are you encouraging your brother to torture me?” Anders said from the doorway of their room. One eyebrow arched and his mouth a thin line, hands planted on his hips.

Garrett turned and smirked. “Why shouldn’t I?”

“Sit down and eat before it gets cold,” Carver said irritably.

No matter how surprisingly supportive Garrett seemed to be Carver hoped that would be the end of this conversation. He also hoped they would pay more attention in the future to keep Garrett out of a discussion about their sex life, or lack of a sex life really. They sat around the table and Carver started to relax a little watching them too interested in eating to talk.

The night moved on like many had before it. They made plans to speak with the landlord and get him added to the lease as well as moving more of his things here from the estate. Anders looked and acted completely at ease but Carver could feel the thread of nervous energy coming off of him. He had never really let Anders know they were still okay after the argument earlier. Garrett had interrupted and Carver didn’t want to reopen the discussion with him anywhere near.

They moved to the living room before they all retired to bedrooms for the night. Carver didn’t pay much attention to the movie the television got stuck on. His mind was focused on Anders and his desires. As he ran through the conversations in his head, he realized Anders wouldn’t do anything unless he knew without a doubt Carver was okay with it. Since it was unlikely that telling Anders that he wasn’t going to run off anymore would ease that worry, he’d just have to prove it.

After a quick glance at his brother, who was sitting in the armchair and engrossed in the program, Carver set his hand lightly on Anders’ thigh. The fabric of his pajama pants was soft and worn thin with age. He was careful not to react to the glance Anders shot at him. Garrett was still not paying any attention to them and he moved his hand down to the inside of his thigh, very close to but not touching his crotch. There was a sharp intake of breath and he couldn’t help smirking when Anders shifted.

The leg closest to Carver ended up half on his lap bent at the knee, his foot resting behind Anders’ other leg now pulled up to his chest. They exchanged a look and Carver drew little circles with a finger on his inner thigh. Anders grinned and leaned onto him, squirming around until he was comfortable. It would be interesting to see just how aroused he could make his soulmate by the time they went to bed.


End file.
